Everything But the Kitchen Cabinet – No Wait, That Too

WaPo has all but fingered Mr. Green, in the library, with the candlestick. Stay with me now: Rove is saying he first learned of Plame’s identity from Libby, not from any classified dossier stuck conspicuously between the seat cushions on Air Force One. He also got the same dish from an anonymous second party in the White House. But before all this, Rove knew only that Wilson’s wife (at the time her name was unrevealed) worked at the CIA, which information came to him — or so he claims — by way of the press. This means that the first few drops of this leak were dripped either by Libby himself, or by that anonymous second party in the White House. Or by someone else entirely. At this point, my money’s on Margaret Spellings. That affably hip homeroom demeanor has always struck me as a little too perfect. And we now know she can’t have been terribly busy leaving no child behind. Follow the schoolteacher.

But many unknowns remain. What role did Hannah play? What, if any, role was played by former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer? Who was the second source for Robert D. Novak, the columnist who first disclosed Plame’s name and role in July 2003? Who was the White House official who leaked word about Wilson’s wife to The Washington Post’s Walter Pincus, who has never publicly revealed his source?

More important, who the hell is refilling Fitzgerald’s Ritalin prescription? –MICHAEL WEISS